Страница 11 из 64
"Why?"
"Our most ancient legends tell of a time when the seven kingdoms were united in an empire strong enough to enforce an era when the buffer zone was just as potent as either Fairy or the mortal realm-our Golden Age, with prosperity and contentment. The Etevar wants to recreate that empire with himself as ruler."
"The title Etevar means "emperor" in the old language," Parthet said. "The renewal of this legendary empire is a recurrent disease in their family. Generation after generation of Etevar holds the same goal, strives after it whenever he can, thirsts after it always."
The Master of Pages arrived. Kardeen and Parthet wrangled with him over the selection of a page for me. It sounded like nonsense, but I was in no position to gripe after the king said I was to have a page. I told myself to go with the flow until I doped out enough of the situation to assert myself. The discussion did give me time for a little mental digestion. All I really got out of the previous discussion was that we were the good guys and everybody else was the bad guys, especially the Etevar of Dorthin and anyone out of Fairy.
By the time the Master of Pages was dismissed, the guard commander and the armorer were waiting. I couldn't ignore this discussion.
"How many soldiers can you find to accompany the prince, right away, this morning?" Kardeen asked the guard commander-one of the thug-types I had seen in the great hall at breakfast. He was several inches shorter than me and built solid, like a side of beef.
"We don't have enough men for garrison duty now," the commander said. His voice was a throaty growl that sounded like the harbinger of serious health problems in the near future.
"At His Majesty's direction," Kardeen said.
The guard commander looked as if he wanted to growl, but didn't.
"Someone who knows the land between here and Castle Thyme," I suggested. A half-blind wizard might not be the most reliable pathfinder. "What about that man we talked to this morning, Uncle Parthet? What was his name, Lesh?" Parthet nodded.
"I believe Lesh is from the eastern marches," the guard commander said. "But perhaps someone a bit younger might serve you better."
"Or not," I said. "If Lesh is willing to go, I'll have him." Parthet looked pleased by my choice.
"As you wish, my lord," the commander said, bowing.
"If he's willing," I emphasized. "I don't want draftees."
"Is there anyone else you'd also like?" Kardeen asked.
"Lesh is the only one I really had a chance to meet," I said. "Look, I know this is difficult, but time seems to be in short supply. One man or six won't make much difference unless I take a whole army, and the more time we waste finding people, the longer it will take. I appreciate the concern, but I'm worried about my folks. Lesh, Uncle Parthet, and the page. That's entourage enough for now. Truly." Kardeen looked relieved. He dismissed the guard commander with instructions to get Lesh and four horses ready to go, fully equipped for a week in the field. Then it was the armorer's turn.
"We need equipment for His Highness," Kardeen told him, "Mail shirt, buckler, helmet."
"I have my own weapons," I said. Everything but the pistol was in plain sight. I didn't bring the gun out.
"If I might examine them, Highness?" The armorer studied my bow, sword, and knife critically. The compound bow didn't throw him for an instant. "Excellent weapons, lord." I though so. Dad always insisted on the best.
"I think it's time for us to see His Majesty," I said, checking my watch.
"We still have a few minutes to spare," Kardeen said without looking at a timepiece. "Batheus, we'll need the shield and other items quickly." As the armorer left, Kardeen's clerk came in and whispered to the chamberlain.
"And now it's time for us to attend His Majesty," Kardeen said with a soft smile in my direction.
"One more thing before I forget," I said. "Do you have a map of the area between here and Castle Thyme?"
"We have maps of the seven kingdoms around somewhere," Kardeen said. "My clerk will sketch you a copy of the appropriate portion if he can find them in time."
The clerk nodded quickly. "Immediately, Your Highness."
The throne room was an office scarcely larger than the chamberlain's. The throne was set on a dais two feet above the floor, but it sat behind a desk as cluttered as Kardeen's. Pregel was apparently a working monarch when the mood struck him. When Kardeen, Parthet, and I entered, there were already a couple of dozen people in the room. But the king hadn't arrived yet. He came in just a minute after we did. Everyone bowed-not too deeply-from the time the herald a
"Come here, Gil," Pregel said. "Stand on my right."
I climbed up on the dais and stood next to the throne, feeling nervous as everyone in the room stared at me.
"My loyal subjects." The king's voice carried well in the small room. "This young man is Gil Tyner, son of my granddaughter Avedell and her husband, Carl, King's Champion, Hero of Varay. Gil departs today on a mission as fraught with peril as any ever attempted by a Hero. We name him our heir for all to hear, King of Varay when I am no more. Our prayers and magics go with him today and always."
I had a fleeting moment to wish that someone had taught me the proper etiquette for occasions of that sort. I would have settled for a simple warning of what was going to happen. I didn't have the faintest idea what I was supposed to do. All of the people down in front of the dais bowed deeply and held it.
"What do I do now?" I whispered to the king when I had figured out that the people were going to hold the position.
He gri
I bowed and said exactly what he'd told me to say and everyone straightened up and started staring at me again.
"You have everything you need?" the king asked me, softly, but not in a whisper.
"It's all been arranged, I think," I said.
"Our prayers and magics do go with you, Gil," he said. He gripped my arm-very tightly. "That's not completely an empty formula here. And if you can keep Parthet from losing his spectacles, he can actually help." Pregel smiled. "Go now, and I wish you luck."
I bowed again and climbed down from the dais, wishing I hadn't lost all those years with Pregel. I had only the faintest memories of him from when I was little, and I had found myself liking him right from the start that morning. Kardeen, Parthet, and I left the throne room together while people continued to stare.
"I wish somebody had warned me what to expect in there," I said when we were out in the corridor. "Remember, I'm a stranger here. I don't know the right things to do and say."
"I'm sorry, Highness." Kardeen sounded like he meant it. "I keep forgetting."
Lesh and a boy who said his name was Timon met us in the antechamber beyond the great hall. Timon looked to be about eight or nine years old. He said he was to be my page. The armorer and Kardeen's clerk joined us a moment later. The armorer was carrying a real load.
"I'm supposed to wear all that?" I asked.
"Just the necessities, Your Highness," the armorer said. He held up the mail shirt, small chain links attached to a heavy leather foundation. Timon and Lesh took off my pack and sword belt. The armorer draped the mail over my fatigue shirt and I gained a quick twenty pounds or more. When he tried to clap a steel-and-leather skullcap on me though, I rebelled.
"I have my own headgear," I said. I whipped the Cubs cap from my back pocket and slipped it on.
"But…" Lesh started. I cut him short.
"No way! I'm not even real crazy about this steel straitjacket. The tin pot is out." Lesh didn't argue in front of the others, but he handed the helmet to Timon, who held on to it as if it were the Grail.